Chapter 14: The Beat of the Drums
Mona turned to her right when the door opened and the bells chimed. She could see a Hispanic student walk in; in each back pocket held a drumstick and the bridge of his nose held a pair of shades. He lowered them and looked at the three in front of him and he smiled. "This is Nick Rossnagle, drummer by heart," said the secretary. She looked up at him and smiled, then looked at the other two. "Hello, my biggest fans, I'm here now. You want an autograph from me or something?" He asked, putting his shades back up. "The principal wants to show him around the school; he's going to need help with how big our school is," the secretary started then turned to Mona and Shawn, "and I'm entrusting you two to show his everything our school has to offer and where he will be staying." "Mi Amore! You look simply splendid; absolutely beautiful," said the drummer as he grabbed Mona's hands, "your hands are so soft! It would be an honor to be hosted by someone so wonderful!" "Oh no. No, no, no." She responded. She pulled her hands away from his grasp and turned to the secretary. "I refuse to be anywhere near someone so," she turned to him, "repulsive. I'd rather have an elephant squash me than show you around." She turned back to the secretary who had finally lost her smile. "That's no good, Ms. Kennedy. Someone must show him around, and you were the first one the Principal chose. If you don't do it, who..." the secretary started but trailed off when she saw the two men conversing behind Mona. "What about Shawn, do you think he'll do it?" The latter nodded and smiled. "Of course he will. Shawn! Go take him for a tour for me. I need to keep talking with Mrs. Yukom." Mona called to her partner and he reluctantly nodded. He walked with the drummer to the door and down the pathway. "So, Nick, I'd like to welcome you to Gillin personally. As the very first person you meet, I'm going to help you out. Stay away from the girl you just met and-- "Look. Shawn, was it?" Nick started, making sure no one was around them. "Ok, don't pretend to be friends with me. Don't even try to be friends with me. You're the last person I'd be caught dead with, and for your information: I'm here for one reason only. That reason does not involve you, so if you would kindly, get out of my way." Before Shawn could move, he pushed him out the way and continued without him. Shawn stood bewildered but shrugged it off. He still needed to get one last signature before the deadline. Nick knew exactly where he had to go; hell, he knew the layout of the school memorized like the back of his hand. He headed for the principal's office on the outskirts of the school. There, he would be able to get some more information of his job; hopefully, of course, he doesn't get seen out of class. Then again, he was the "new student", he could just say he was going to his next class. There we go, that's what he'll say. He looked in front of him; the doors to the principal's office stood there. He pushed them open and looked around. He couldn't see a single soul around inside or out the offices. He took a step inside and felt the air conditioner working overtime. The brisk autumn breezes gave way to ice cold chills from the conditioner. "Hey! Is anyone here? Olivia? Chris? Javier?" He asked, stepping further into the devil's den. The tap of his feet echoed throughout the office. He resisted the erge to grab the drumstick from his pockets and start tapping a beat. He only made his feet tap in the form of a drum. "Dammit Nick, stop the racket right now. You're going to attract attention." A voice behind him said softly, as if not to be heard. Nick was preoccupied with his tapping and didn't hear the voice. The latter spoke up again louder but was still unheard. Nick took one last tap before he looked around. It was then that he saw the origin of the voice. "Dude, Chris! What's up? Where are the others, and what happened to you?" He asked as he saw the attire of the other. The latter wore a bomber jacket and had his hair up in spikes. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and smirked. "Can't a man change without getting questioned? What about you; hah, you haven't changed a bit! Always with your damn sticks in your pockets and that shootty cargo pants." The man responded and wrapped one arm around the other. "I kid man, but seriously. What's up man? Brooke's been mighty lonely without you. I tell you, so many guys have been hitting on her; it's not even funny. It's good you're back though, we needed one more man for the operation. Mona has been having a trigger finger for a while now and she's ready to start the plans without you. Come with me, let's get you caught up eith old friends." He lead the other through the doors on the right. As soon as they entered the abandoned side office, a girl through herself onto Nick. He smiled and hugged her back. He said: "Hey, Olivia. I missed you." "I missed you too! It was horrible without you here!" She responded, moving over to the other man in the room. He nodded and shot out his hand. Nick took it, smiled, and shook it. "Good to see you too, Javier." He said and the other nodded in agreement. Chris smiled from the side and spoke up. "Alright, everyone, we are now caught up. We must talk about how we can take down this school. We have people in each hangout gaining people for our ranks. However! If you see that Alan kid, get him on our side immediately! He is said to be the savior of our school and the one that will help a new age rise. We must get him right away! Olivia: I want you to go back to the slacker's hangout and give this to Dubant. He will most definitely help our effort." He gave a small piece a paper to her. "Javier: I need you to get to every wallflower there is and get their opinion of how this school is going to the dogs. And, lastly, Nick. I want you to play the role of the new kid and get to class before anyone notices you're not there. I made a list of people you NEED, and I put emphasis on need, to meet before the final hour. Do you three understand? Good. Now go before someone hears us."